Meet Our Team
Founder | Senior Lawyer | Private Notary
Pedro Leal is the founder of Pedro Leal Lawyers and Private Notary. He is a senior Macau litigation lawyer and a private notary with over 35 years of experience focusing on criminal, civil, commercial and administrative litigation proceedings across a broad range of sectors including betting and gaming, consumer and retail, financial services, government and public, projects and infrastructure, real estate and telecom, media, entertainment and technology.
He specializes in dispute resolution and litigation and has acted in hundreds of criminal, civil, commercial and administrative proceedings with the Macau Judicial Base Court, the Macau Court of Second Instance and the Macau Court of Final Appeal, the Macau Administrative Court, the Macau Public Prosecution Office and the Macau Public Security Force and its Immigration Department. He has a unique track record of success and is widely recognized by peers and clients alike as one of the most experienced criminal lawyers in Macau, having represented key defendants on most of the high profile criminal proceeding in Macau of the past three decades.
Pedro also has significant experience acting as a lawyer for local, Chinese and international individual and corporate clients, on several labour, employment and immigration, intellectual property and trademark administrative and court litigation proceedings, as well as corporate, M&A and commercial transactions. As a Private Notary, he provides the full range of Macau notary and conveyancing services to local, Chinese and international individual and corporate clients. Before founding his own Macau law firm and private notary office, Pedro was an in house legal counsel for the Sports Institute of the Government of Macau, a lawyer with another leading Macau law firm and private notaries’ office, an in-house lawyer for Lisnave, once one of the largest shipyards in the world based in Portugal, and an associate with PLMJ, on of the largest law firms in Portugal.
He is qualified to practice in Macau and Portugal and is the founding president of the Macau Rugby Association, the legal advisor of the Macau Construction Association, a regular member of the jury of entrance and final legal qualification exams of the Macau Lawyers Association (AAM), and a regular guest lecturer of Criminal Law in the Faculty of Law of the University of Macau.
Pedro Leal holds a Private Notary license from the Macau Legal Affairs Bureau (DSAJ) and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon in Portugal. Pedro is fluent in Portuguese, French, Spanish and English, and speak basic Cantonese Chinese.
Trainee Lawyer
Charlie Mak Hoi Wun is a Trainee Lawyer. Her practice is focuses on dispute resolution and civil, commercial and criminal litigation, and regulatory and compliance matters where she assists the team's lawyers and clients on a broad range of sectors including betting and gaming, and real estate.
Charlie also has assisted Dr. Pedro Leal with dozens of local clients and their incorporation procedures. Before joining Pedro Leal, she was a trainee lawyer with a local law firm in Macau where she developed an extensive knowledge of the technical aspects of civil, criminal, commercial and administrative law proceedings.
Charlie Mak Hoi Wun holds a Master in Civil Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra in Portugal, a Bachelor of Laws from the Faculty of Law of the University of Macau, and an Advanced Portuguese Language Course from the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Charlie is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese, Portuguese and English.
Project Manager | Head of Public Relations
Mr. João Cardoso is a Project Manager and the Head of Public Relations with Pedro Leal. He has over three decades of experience in Macau dispute resolution and litigation proceedings where he assists Pedro Leal and clients in a broad range of sectors including betting and gaming, consumer and retail, projects and infrastructure, real estate and telecom, media, entertainment and technology.
Mr. João Cardoso has been working with Pedro Leal for over 25 years having provided project management, and translation and interpretation support to Pedro Leal in hundreds of criminal, civil, commercial and administrative proceedings with the Macau Judicial Base Court, the Court of Second Instance and the Court of Final Appeal, the Macau Administrative Court, the Macau Public Prosecution Office and the Macau Public Security Force and its Immigration Department.
Mr. Cardoso also has significant experience assisting Pedro Leal and local, Chinese and international individual and corporate clients, with their wealth , family office and inheritance matters and several corporate, M&A and commercial transactions. Before joining Pedro Leal, Mr. Joao Cardoso worked in the tax enforcement department of the Macau Financial Services Bureau. Mr. Cardoso is fluent in Cantonese Chinese, Portuguese, French, English and Thai, and speaks basic Mandarin Chinese.
Notary Department
Ms. Annie Cheong is the Head of Notary Department of Pedro Leal. Her practice focuses on assisting Pedro Leal and clients on a broad range of sectors including betting and gaming, government and public, and real estate.
Ms. Annie Cheong has been working with Pedro Leal for over two decades and also has significant experience in labour, employment and immigration matters and corporate, M&A and commercial arrangements, tax and intellectual property including handling trademark, patent, design registrations, extensions and opposition. As Head of Notary Department, Ms. Cheong assists with the full range of notary and conveyancing services including handling notarial and authentication acts, preparing public deeds, power of attorneys, translations, interpretations and relevant taxes.
Ms. Annie Cheong also oversees and coordinates all administrative and operational matters of Pedro Leal including human resources, filings and government relations. Before joining Pedro Leal, Ms. Cheong was with Jones Lang LaSalle and previously worked as an executive assistant with a local Macau law firm. Ms. Annie Cheong holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Communication from the University of Macau. Ms. Cheong is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese and English and speak basic Portuguese.
Intellectual Property
Ms. Jenny Cheong is the Head of Intellectual Property of Pedro Leal. Her practice focuses on intellectual property, where she assists Pedro Leal and clients handling trademark, patent, design registrations, extensions and oppositions on a broad range of sectors including automotive and aviation, consumer and retails, government and public, healthcare and pharmaceuticals and industrial and manufacturing. Ms. Jenny Cheong has been working with Pedro Leal for over a decade and also has significant experience in labour, employment and immigration matters, corporate, M&A and commercial arrangements, and notary and conveyancing procedures including notarial and authentication acts and public deeds.
In addition, Ms. Cheong also provides support to Pedro Leal in his criminal, civil, commercial and administrative litigation practice including managing the full range of filing and submission work with the relevant public departments, namely the Judicial Base, Second Instance and Final Appeal Courts, the Administrative Court, the Public Prosecution Office, the Public Security Force and its Immigration Department, the Labour Affairs and Financial Services Bureaus, the Commercial and Movable Assets and real Estate Registries, and the Economy Services and it Intellectual Property Department.
Ms. Jenny Cheong holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Art Education of the University of Macau. Ms. Cheong is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese and English.
